1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a squeezing tool used in combination with a tube container of a high-viscosity liquid, such as a sealant, an adhesive, a grease or a tooth paste, for squeezing out the high-viscosity liquid from a spout of the tube container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, when a sealant is used as a joint sealant for bath rooms, sash windows, for example, the sealant composed of a high-viscosity liquid is filled in a tube container made of metal such as aluminum or lead, and after which a squeezing nozzle is fitted with a spout of the tube container for completely and neatly sealing a narrow part with the sealant.
However, partly because the nozzle is tapered and has a small discharge hole, and partly because the sealant is composed of a high-viscosity liquid as stated above, a large pressure or force must be exerted on the tube container in order to squeeze out the sealant from the tube container. In addition, the sealant must be squeezed out entirely from the tube container to avoid wastage. Taking these demands into account, it has been a known practice to use a squeezing tool for facilitating squeezing of the sealant from the tube container. The known squeezing tool includes a spool having a slot in which a bottom of the tube container is received and locked, and a grip portion or handle integrally formed with the spool for rotating the spool. The squeezing tool as attached to the tube container winds up the tube container on the spool from the bottom of the tube container during which time the tube container is compressed and hence the sealant is squeezed out from the tube container through the nozzle.
In recent years, from the point of view of aesthetical appearance and utility, the metallic tube containers have been replaced by flexible plastic tube containers such as laminated tubes or polyethylene tubes. In the case where the known squeezing tool is used with the flexible plastic tube containers, the grip portion of the squeezing tool is manipulated to rotate the spool in one direction for winding up the flexible plastic tube container from the bottom thereof, so that a sealant is squeezed out from the flexible plastic tube container. However, when the grip portion is released, the spool and the grip portion (i.e., the tool itself) is forced to rotate in the opposite direction due to the resiliency of the flexible plastic tube container. The flexible plastic tube container is unwound from the spool, accordingly.